The ADC value increasing as your hand gets closer seems correct, your hand and the "antenna" is forming the upper half of a capacitive voltage divider, with the ADC input capacitance forming the lower half. More capacitance on the upper part of the divider (i.e. hand closer to antenna) means more charge is driven into the ADC capacitor when PB2 goes high.
Weeks ago I found if you had a wire connected to an analog read pin on almost any Arduino board it could detect movement, even though wood or metal. pretty neat.
There's a way cheaper kit for building your own Theremin btw: www.franzis.de/maker/bausaetze/das-franzis-theremin-zum-selberbauen-bausatz :) But i's more a toy or an experiment than an instrument, because it lacks the second Antenna for controling volume.
The pitch getting higher with your hand coming closer is due to the capacitance indeed being reduced. The capacitance value is proportional to the inverse of the distance between two plates or electrodes, i.e. your hand and the single wire. That is when you and the circuit is isolated. Got no explanation [yet] as to observing the opposite when the circuit is grounded. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance#Capacitance_of_conductors_with_simple_shapes
Isn't less distance = more capacitance? Don't theremins increase their frequency because less distance -> higher capacitance -> lower RF frequency -> multiplied by cosine -> higher audio pitch?
@@revimfadli4666 Yes, it is. That's what I said by "proportional to the inverse of the distance" i.e. the distance being in the denominator. Maybe that was a little confusing ;-) . However I'm not really sure how theremins do work, exactly...
Thank you for the video. A proper theramin or not...it is a great instructional video on how a theramin actually works. It's been 4 years since you posted...so presumably you got the answer to the 'why the pitch gets higher the closer you get' question (I did not read the entire comment history). Another person explains to me that it is the result of heterodyning...switching over of frequencies...high to low, low to high. Thanks again!
Hey I made exactly that and it sounded perfectly. It was some years ago, just that mine transmitted the audio via serial in MIDI....lost the code but it was amazing.
If you upgraded your ATtiny to one of the ones that has a timer with input capture functionality, you could use the internal analogue comparator more directly to take the capacitance measurement via the timing method rather than having to use the analog-to-digital converter, which would probably be lower noise. Although, even without an input capture timer, just directly advancing your wavetable pointer from the analog comparator interrupt could let you still do this even with just the ATTiny85.
Perhaps the circuit is reading the absorbed energy of your body? When you ground out, the circuit acts as expected. The voltage induced in your body by environmental EMF is perhaps significant enough for this circuit to sense it. To confirm, simply hook a scope to your isolated body, or an ariel to see the atmospheric EMF. A meter long two wire one will do it. I used Nichrome wire.
I like what you did here, and I may have to try it. I have built a couple of simple theremins myself, and this looks pretty interesting. Thank you for sharing it!
Any Nail And Screw In That Table Is resonating With The Instrument, Make Sure When You Work With It And Try To Play It, Do It Where Its Safe Distance From The Wires.
Great stuff. I don't suppose you've managed to create a direct Bluetooth MIDI yet without using the BT just as a serial bridge, as I'm battling with something like that at the moment and not having to think about it myself is a whole lot easier? :-)
Thanks for the suggestion. I was hoping to somehow convince a hc-05 (yes, cheapskate I know) to do the job rather than forking out for another board. I think I'll just do the serial bridge for now though (portable laser harp + hc-06 to hc-05 + a midi out port). It might be better that way anyhow as it'll plug into any midi device rather than having to link to a PC. Do I spy a K40 in the background? 😀
before anything else, the theremin tends to be annoying, once you accept its noise it can only be fun. I really feel like I have to listen to the battery powered theremin. How can I build one????
Uneducated guess: To make it extremely simplified, basically the ADC drains all the load of the "capacitor" before it actually reads the value. If the capacitance is higher, it stores more load, thus has more reading. Not knowing too much about the Attiny85, I leave it out here, but it inverts as soon as you touch the oszilloscope because you and the wire finally store enough energy to drive the ADC correctly. That also explains why the signal is much clearer. If this theory holds true, it should get worse the more humid the environment is.
I suspect it's not working how you think this is, and what is happening is your body is acting like an RF antenna to radio stations (FM, AM, TV) etc, and when you move your hand near the antenna you couple more of the broadcast station's power to the high impedance pin so the reading goes up. Protection or other diodes in the IC are probably rectifying the RF power a little It works better with the wrist strap because because you are referencing the voltage at part of your body to a constant value then the currents induced by external RF makes the voltage of the rest of you move relative to that point, depending on the wavelength and amplitude. Without the wrist strap your body would tend to float on the slow AC mains hum surrounding you, which would on average cancel out a lot of your samples.
Aura. What your really interacting with is the Human Aura. I bet the sound will change pitch based solely on how you feel. 😡 😊 ❤️. I have one installed by the door for when my wife leaves here hole. I’ve had to replace 3 buzzers when her car broke down. And I’m waiting to hear the pitch change when she actually needs me for something other than fill my water bottle.
Hilariously enough, it is perfectly acceptable for all types of glitchy EDM that seems to be all the rage lately. BIt of low pass, some verb, or put thru a granular and some modulation - quite nice to some ears...
I didn't know that I had always wanted to know what a theramin would soundlike if it chain smoked for 20 years. Now I know, thank you!
The ADC value increasing as your hand gets closer seems correct, your hand and the "antenna" is forming the upper half of a capacitive voltage divider, with the ADC input capacitance forming the lower half. More capacitance on the upper part of the divider (i.e. hand closer to antenna) means more charge is driven into the ADC capacitor when PB2 goes high.
It's official: You should wax your mustache into curly swirls.
IMHO the lack of a mustache style is a style on its own.
@@lev7509 Fair enough. And I too struggled to find an unused RUclips user name!
"It's a bit like playing theremin through a hail storm"
*Proceeds to significantly lower volume
big same
That tashe tho
Edit: I'm so glad the algorithm is giving your channel some limelight, it's been a long time coming
yea i agree
Yeah, that 'stache is prime for some waxing. I recommend curly swirls, but bicycle handles would work too.
Weeks ago I found if you had a wire connected to an analog read pin on almost any Arduino board it could detect movement, even though wood or metal. pretty neat.
if you don't wat a wrist strap on your wrist, you could put in onto your ankle.
I don’t know RUclips recommendations, is it possible?
Keep your attiny projects coming. There all awesome! Great thinking outside the box.
I want a theremin so badly, but can't afford one...they are absolutely beautiful!
@@jordbeets thank you! I'll check that site out.
There's a way cheaper kit for building your own Theremin btw: www.franzis.de/maker/bausaetze/das-franzis-theremin-zum-selberbauen-bausatz :) But i's more a toy or an experiment than an instrument, because it lacks the second Antenna for controling volume.
Thank you RUclips algorithm for recommending me this
The pitch getting higher with your hand coming closer is due to the capacitance indeed being reduced. The capacitance value is proportional to the inverse of the distance between two plates or electrodes, i.e. your hand and the single wire. That is when you and the circuit is isolated. Got no explanation [yet] as to observing the opposite when the circuit is grounded. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance#Capacitance_of_conductors_with_simple_shapes
Isn't less distance = more capacitance? Don't theremins increase their frequency because less distance -> higher capacitance -> lower RF frequency -> multiplied by cosine -> higher audio pitch?
@@revimfadli4666 Yes, it is. That's what I said by "proportional to the inverse of the distance" i.e. the distance being in the denominator. Maybe that was a little confusing ;-) . However I'm not really sure how theremins do work, exactly...
4:17 - great sound effect! :) i really like this sound! So... it can be used to produce some noise type effects... maybe plus several components
Thank you for the video. A proper theramin or not...it is a great instructional video on how a theramin actually works. It's been 4 years since you posted...so presumably you got the answer to the 'why the pitch gets higher the closer you get' question (I did not read the entire comment history). Another person explains to me that it is the result of heterodyning...switching over of frequencies...high to low, low to high. Thanks again!
This dudes British accent and voice is really similar to Tom Scott.
Love it! Rather than a wrist strap, you could have a ground pad that you stand on.
Hey I made exactly that and it sounded perfectly. It was some years ago, just that mine transmitted the audio via serial in MIDI....lost the code but it was amazing.
If you upgraded your ATtiny to one of the ones that has a timer with input capture functionality, you could use the internal analogue comparator more directly to take the capacitance measurement via the timing method rather than having to use the analog-to-digital converter, which would probably be lower noise.
Although, even without an input capture timer, just directly advancing your wavetable pointer from the analog comparator interrupt could let you still do this even with just the ATTiny85.
If I was at some convention or something similar I'd probably buy that battery powered one
Anyone who is interested in the topics mitxela dives into be sure to visit the site. Incredible body of work. thank you, mitxela!
Incredible! I don't know what is going on exactly here, but it does look really interesting!
Another great video! I actually prefer the gnarly sounds that thing outputs. Would sound incredible mixed with some white/pink noise and reverb.
I totally imagine you in Beakman's World!
Perhaps the circuit is reading the absorbed energy of your body? When you ground out, the circuit acts as expected. The voltage induced in your body by environmental EMF is perhaps significant enough for this circuit to sense it. To confirm, simply hook a scope to your isolated body, or an ariel to see the atmospheric EMF. A meter long two wire one will do it. I used Nichrome wire.
Andrew Hwong wants one of these. He doesn't know he wants one, but he absolutely does. No, the noise isn't a problem, for him, it would be the point.
Awesome video, love your projects
A Shakespearean electronics genius... What a world!
I like what you did here, and I may have to try it. I have built a couple of simple theremins myself, and this looks pretty interesting. Thank you for sharing it!
Any Nail And Screw In That Table Is resonating With The Instrument, Make Sure When You Work With It And Try To Play It, Do It Where Its Safe Distance From The Wires.
Theremin with only one component is just a human
Yt algorithm geve me this, and i'm happy.
I didn't understand any of that, but enjoyed it just the same...
wow amazing
Very impressive.
That would make a good mains detector to pick up the mains hum on a wire?
I dont know which audience this video is targeting.
I was just watching your gestures and movement ms. 😂
where can I get that component?
Great stuff.
I don't suppose you've managed to create a direct Bluetooth MIDI yet without using the BT just as a serial bridge, as I'm battling with something like that at the moment and not having to think about it myself is a whole lot easier? :-)
I've been looking into it, but not had time to finish anything yet. There is a project called "blidino" which may be of interest to you.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I was hoping to somehow convince a hc-05 (yes, cheapskate I know) to do the job rather than forking out for another board. I think I'll just do the serial bridge for now though (portable laser harp + hc-06 to hc-05 + a midi out port). It might be better that way anyhow as it'll plug into any midi device rather than having to link to a PC.
Do I spy a K40 in the background? 😀
You should still sell a kit
"My grandmother needed a TV Antenna, once, but you're too edgy for some of those lyrics..." 🗨🤩🎭🔖🎸🔇
before anything else, the theremin tends to be annoying, once you accept its noise it can only be fun. I really feel like I have to listen to the battery powered theremin. How can I build one????
you should try to insulate the 2 antenna because of how close they are
Can this be done on the DIGISPARK ATTINY85 ? Its coded in Arduino with sketches
Maybe, but you might have to overwrite the bootloader section, I don't know.
The source code is here: github.com/mitxela/TinyTheremin
Hey, if speakers and wires are not components, you could use a speaker as a resistor and an extremely large amount of wire as a capacitor.
Uneducated guess: To make it extremely simplified, basically the ADC drains all the load of the "capacitor" before it actually reads the value. If the capacitance is higher, it stores more load, thus has more reading. Not knowing too much about the Attiny85, I leave it out here, but it inverts as soon as you touch the oszilloscope because you and the wire finally store enough energy to drive the ADC correctly. That also explains why the signal is much clearer. If this theory holds true, it should get worse the more humid the environment is.
i like the sound. i would like one. looks like i need to look into the thing and how to use it.
I suspect it's not working how you think this is, and what is happening is your body is acting like an RF antenna to radio stations (FM, AM, TV) etc, and when you move your hand near the antenna you couple more of the broadcast station's power to the high impedance pin so the reading goes up. Protection or other diodes in the IC are probably rectifying the RF power a little
It works better with the wrist strap because because you are referencing the voltage at part of your body to a constant value then the currents induced by external RF makes the voltage of the rest of you move relative to that point, depending on the wavelength and amplitude. Without the wrist strap your body would tend to float on the slow AC mains hum surrounding you, which would on average cancel out a lot of your samples.
4:18 The suction tube at the dentist's office:
Would make a good ghost detector or put a germaium diode in the cuircut
Looks like Peter McKinnon and sounds like 3klikphillip
You are a good talker
OTOMATONE SUSHI GO GO
Is called an oscillator
... but is it SAFE for a general AI?
Ha, sounds like a Dalek tried to sing!
Aura. What your really interacting with is the Human Aura. I bet the sound will change pitch based solely on how you feel.
😡 😊 ❤️. I have one installed by the door for when my wife leaves here hole.
I’ve had to replace 3 buzzers when her car broke down. And I’m waiting to hear the pitch change when she actually needs me for something other than fill my water bottle.
I like ur word spaghetti cool man
HAINBACH would love this theremin!
This video is so cool
it sounds like those sorting algorithm videos
When I close my eyes, you sound JUST like Tom Scott.
Fact: All British people have identical voices
(Except Scottish)
@@__mk_km__ no we don't.
man I love this video but I have no ide3a what he's talking about
look like you are on speed
You really want to look like the boss from IT CROWD, right?
Are you stressed?
You have a voice over layer, right ?
hey an electronic dad long legs,lol.
"44,444 views" I feel honored
he looks like a homeless man with a home
If you're only allowed one component, just choose a theremin smh
Pos 555 chip
Get with the times old man
There-a-min!
Wash your hair.
You look like Gaahl from Gorgoroth
I see 7 components plus the power supply and the speaker.
Fifth grade science project.
I tried to find one of your cool projects, but only found "This channel doesn't have any content".
The voice of Tom Scott
It's not a theremin, just an oscillator making noises.
No, that's not a Theremin. It sounds awfull.
Shut
up
moron
Hilariously enough, it is perfectly acceptable for all types of glitchy EDM that seems to be all the rage lately. BIt of low pass, some verb, or put thru a granular and some modulation - quite nice to some ears...